Soon a couple of other people joined them. Terry took out his keys and started to walk up the path. The other’s trailed behind him in silence.
Once they passed through the main entrance to Melden Silver Band, there were three separate doors, opened with three separate keys, and a corridor between each of them.
‘Have you got the crown jewel’s in here?’ Wee Renee asked.
‘You’d think so wouldn’t you.’ Kathy replied.
Terry had keys to all doors. He also owned the house next door, which housed his business, Melden Smiles, the dentist.
Melden was an old band and had an old bandroom. It was nearly one hundred years old and contained a lot of old memorabilia. The main room was quite dark and to add to the atmosphere, every wall had oak wood paneling, which was covered in pictures. It smelled musty and felt damp. There was a door to one side, and this led to the upstairs of the house that the bandroom used to be. Up there now was the bathroom and the place where the band kept all spare instruments. The music library was also up there. Laura had been in here a couple of times when she had deputised for players on behalf of Melden band if they were ill. As a percussionist Laura valued the quality of the percussion in this band room, it was extremely good. If she played here she would be worried about the xylophone or marimba getting mouldy. It really was too damp. Laura’s cousin Kathy played the cornet, Sally played the horn and Uncle Terry played the big Bflat Tuba.
Kathy snapped the light on, and they were suddenly confronted with the sight of Malcolm sat in the Conductor’s chair waiting for them. They all jumped back, he had scared them. Pat clutched her heart.
‘What are you doing here?’ Terry asked.
‘I thought I could help and I got too cold outside waiting, so came in.’
‘Fair enough. Why didn’t you put the light on?’
‘Thrift. And I wanted to be alone with my thoughts. There is a lot going on, isn’t there.’
‘You’re not wrong there,’ said Pat.
Laura had a feeling in her water about him. She thought Malcolm had been acting strangely last night, snooping on conversations and today, he didn't look too well at all. Laura wanted to pull her Uncle Terry aside and ask him if Malcolm had been at Anne’s party and was infected like Our Doris, but didn’t get the chance.
Although very pale, Malcolm was quite talkative. He was talking to Pat and Wee Renee about their story and what had happened to them in Friarmere. They told him their story until their arrival in Melden.
‘It sounds terrible. What an ordeal. You had to kill your own fellow bandsmen too! I can’t imagine doing it. It must have scarred you for life. How many of you got out?’
‘Eleven are here. But there might be others left in Friarmere, we don’t know. We hope so anyway,’ Pat replied.
‘Of course yes. And all that musical talent gone to waste, along with the waste of life. Are you safe now, here in Melden, do you think?’
‘No. There are new threats here, which I obviously think you are aware of. But we think we are safe from the Friarmere threat. I mean it was a long way for us, and it will be the same for him in the snow. He won’t have any idea we are here, he will be looking high and low in Friarmere, I imagine.’
‘Of course. Where are you staying by the way?’
‘We are with Freddie’s sister-in-law, you know……..’ Wee Renee quickly put her hand over Pat’s mouth.
‘Sshh! Loose lips sink ships. You don’t know who is listening to your conversation.’
‘I’ll tell you another time, love,’ Pat said to him smiling.
Malcolm seemed very concerned about it all and Pat thought he was quite a likeable chap. He reminded her of Michael Thompson, before he became evil, but an improved version. A people pleaser and a bit too nosy, but generally good hearted.
Wee Renee started looking at the old pictures laughing, it was funny how things have changed.
‘These are marvellous, I could look at them all day,’ she said.
‘Can we just get on to a few identification’s please,’ Carl said, clearly agitated. He didn’t know if he wanted to know or didn’t want to know now.
The recent batch of pictures from Melden Band had been in their sections. There was not a whole band picture, so they went from one to the next looking at the various groupings. Wee Renee recognised one straight away.
‘That lady there. She is one. She has had her hair cut since this photo, though. A wee bob, she has now.’
‘That is my Sarah.’ One of the men said touching the picture gently with his hand as if he could bring his old Sarah back.
‘Ah,’ said Wee Renee. ‘I think she made a visit to the kebab shop the other day as well then, if that is Sarah. You’ll probably come across her sooner or later I imagine.’
Another lady was looking for her sister and Pat was able to identify her too. There was a teenage youth who was looking for his father and they had to tell him that he was amongst one of these people roaming around Melden, also.
‘I thought he would be. I just wanted confirmation.’
‘Are you ok. Do you have people to be with?’ Laura asked.
‘I’m at my mate's house.’ He wandered out alone, which they felt very sad about.
Laura and Sally quickly followed him, and managed to catch him in the last corridor and tried to talk to him. It was hard work. They asked him if he was okay, but he shrugged off all their good wishes and said he just wanted to get home quickly so he didn’t meet his Dad.
As they arrived back into the bandroom, Wee Renee reached the last picture on the wall, which was of the horns.
‘This is a nice one of you, Sally.’ She said as she moved along the picture. Then she squinted at it and gasped. ‘Who is this person here?’ She pointed to the attractive woman who was holding the flugelhorn in her hands. Carl and Sally walked over to look and followed Wee Renee’s finger to the lovely brunette woman.
‘That is my wife. That is Kate.’ Carl said. Wee Renee took down the picture off the wall. She passed it to Pat, who looked down, then back up at Wee Renee. She passed it to Laura, who didn’t know it was coming and the frame dropped on the floor, smashing the glass. Laura bent over, picked up the frame and walked over to the small metal bin, tipping all the broken glass into it. She could now see who Carl’s wife was.
Wee Renee put her hand on Carl’s arm.
‘I am sorry to tell you that she has become one of his succulents,’ she said gently. He put his hand over his mouth. Then realised he didn’t understand what she was saying.
‘Who is he? And what is she again?’ Carl asked.
‘The he is Norman. She is in Friarmere with him and was at the Christmas concert. Liz told us she was at the bonfire party and she is a wee succulent.’
‘Okay so I know who he is now. But I still don’t know what you mean. I don’t understand what she is. Are you saying she is a cactus? Are you saying she is something he sucks on? Or that she is prickly?’
‘No, no. A succulent you know what I mean.’ Sally was watching all this and was winking one eye and thinking.
‘Wee Renee do you mean a succubus?’ She asked.
‘Yes, that's what I mean. A sexual vampire. That's what she is, a succubus. I always get those words mixed up. I’ve been in the garden centre asking for succubus’s before now!’ Laura and Pat laughed and clapped her on the back.
‘You are a one,’ Pat said still hysterical. Kathy and Sally looked at them with extremely wide eyes and then glanced at Carl. Pat got her handkerchief out quickly and pretended to sneeze. ‘Oohh, the dust in this bandroom.’ She said, trying to stifle the laughter with the handkerchief.
Wee Renee looked at Carl who was devastated. He had crumpled onto one of the chairs and his head was in his hands. Wee Renee put her hand on his shoulder.
‘Take no notice of Pat, love. She suffers from nervous laughter. I can assure you she is as upset as me.’ She looked over at Pat and mouthed the words you silly bugger over the top of Carl’s he
ad and this started Pat off again. She rushed out into the corridor where she obviously thought she couldn’t be heard. Pat took her handkerchief off her face and fully let rip with the guffaws.
Wee Renee decided to pretend she couldn’t hear it and stroked Carl’s head, saying there there. Carl looked up at Wee Renee.
‘What is she doing there? What is happening to my Kate?’
‘Well she is a vampire and she is a sexy one, that's all I know,’ Wee Renee said. ‘Plus you can safely say you wouldn’t want her back, I think. I think a succubus does her Masters bidding, seducing men into becoming vampires at his will. And other dark deeds. At least you can grieve now. I just hope she doesn't want you back, or else you have a problem.’
At this point, as their conversation had become a little uncomfortable, the other people who had come to identify the last missing bandsmen wandered off with their heads down. Maybe their loved ones were in Anne’s gang. Better that than a succubus.
One of the men entered the corridor. He tapped Pat on the shoulder.
‘What does she mean exactly by a succubus? How far would they go?’ He asked her quietly.
‘Oh hello, saucy!’ Pat said.
‘No….I want to know because my sister is missing. I want to know the full facts.’
‘Oh, sorry. They follow the Head Vampire’s orders by doing it, this way and that with men, you know. Or creatures, who knows,’ she said loudly.
‘Ah!’ Replied the man simply, put his head down and walked away from Pat. The whole conversation had been overheard in the bandroom and there was a tense silence. Pat had calmed down now and wandered back in, with a smile on her face.
‘I will kill him.’ Carl said.
‘Now listen. You might feel like that,’ said Pat sternly, ‘but you won’t on your own. You would never do it on your own in a million years. You haven’t seen them. At some point we will go back, with our little army and you can come with us, if that is what you want. Then you can get revenge for your Kate. But let's be clear about this, she can never be the same again, and at some point one of us, or you, will have to kill her again. Don’t forget she is already dead.’
18 – Shopping Bag
Wee Renee had put her shopping on two chairs. The meat on one chair, and her bag of chocolate’s, on another one. Malcolm had shopping with him too and he had put this on the floor lying next to the Conductor’s Stand. It was a brown paper bag inside a clear plastic bag and Pat noticed that it had been leaking.
‘What's happened to your shopping, Malcolm?’ She asked.
‘Smashed it on the way. I slipped on the snow and knocked it against a wall.’ He picked up the bag, and wiggled it a bit. They could hear the broken glass. It’s a jar of beetroot, so I have put another bag around it. Luckily I had a spare in my pocket, from taking the dog out. He’s missing now. I will have to sort it and wash the beetroot off all the shopping when I get back.’
‘That’s a swine,’ Pat said, ‘you haven’t got ‘owt in there that’s absorbent have you. Like icing sugar?’
‘No. Just a few tins of potato’s and mushy peas.’ He replied. Pat seemed content about these delicacies remaining unspoiled.
‘I need to go upstairs in the archives and have a look at some paperwork up there. I have received a letter and it needs some personal details filling in. There are more pictures upstairs if you are interested? Really old ones. You ought to see some of the hairstyles,’ Terry laughed.
They all trooped upstairs after Terry. The upstairs was very orderly with filing cabinets and a photocopier. At one end there were piles of instruments in brown and black cases with stickers on. Across the length of one wall sat a large dining table, which they used to sort out music. Above this table on the wall were all the old pictures. About half were black and white and half were colour. Wee Renee enjoyed looking at these thoroughly. Some of them were pictures of Terry’s grandfather with a large moustache and sideburns. Sally brought up the fact that there were only ladies in the pictures from the 1980’s and how it was wonderful how banding had moved with the times.
They had not noticed that Malcolm was still downstairs. Malcolm wanted to get a message to Anne. He knew everything now. How many there were and where they were staying. He would be able to inform Anne and Norman that some of the Friarmere party were here and there was a chance if they got here soon after dark, that they could be taken out tonight, leaving less to kill tomorrow. He would be in favour for this. Malcolm might even get a special reward. Perhaps they would finally turn him. He rushed off whilst he had his chance. There would be no questions from that lot upstairs. He just had to get his timing right, darkness wise. They would never know it was him.
‘Is this the bathroom Uncle Terry? I probably should go.’ Laura asked.
‘Yes, that’s it. It’s fine to use, but don’t judge us on the sanitary ware.’ Terry said.
Laura went in and shut the door. There was an outer room with a mirror and sink, which she didn't look at, as she was desperate to get to the toilet. It was indeed a very old style toilet. A strange shape, small with quite a lot of pink flowers on its cracked surface and a small hole for the waste to go down. The flush was above, with a black chain and handle. She was glad to see that there were at least six sheets of toilet paper left on the roll. She looked for another to replace it, but there was none.
When she had used the toilet she went back into the outer bathroom area to wash her hands. She turned on the tap and washed her hands shaking them dry, thinking about what a pickle they were in. Laura glanced up at the mirror over the sink to check herself. What a mess. Her hair needed dying, her skin was dry and her eyes were dark underneath. At least she was alive. And thankful. It was then that she remembered about the empty toilet roll. There was a cupboard under the sink, which she checked. There they were, two unopened toilet rolls, she pulled the packet out and it was then she noticed there was a post-it note stuck to the top. It was an anonymous note. It said….. I am so scared. Our conductor is now one of them. I have seen him with her. He eats animals. I am scared. Help.
Laura took the note off the toilet paper. She reread the note and realised who they were talking about. Laura came out of the bathroom, and observed the group of people in the music library. She could see that Malcolm wasn't there and then remembered that she had not seen him since they had been upstairs. Gesturing for the others to come over, she put her finger to her lips, to prevent Malcolm from hearing them downstairs. She passed the note to Terry. He read it and then she motioned for him to pass it round. They all read the note and were shocked. Wee Renee clutched hold of Pat’s arm. They stood there for a very long time listening.
‘Malcolm!’ Terry shouted suddenly. There was no reply.
‘Dad! He could be fully transforming down there, all his fur growing and stuff. Now he will remember we are here again.’ Sally said
‘He’d have to grow a spine first wouldn’t he?’ Pat said. ‘Yellow, two-faced bastard.’
‘Yes Sally. They don’t turn into a proper wee werewolf. He won’t be doing that.’ Wee Renee informed her.
‘What are we going to do?’ Kathy whispered.
‘We will have to go down at some point. He hasn't done anything up to yet. We should be fine. We'll act like we don't know.’ Wee Renee said. Laura took the note, folded it in half and put it in the back pocket of her jeans. They walked to the top of the stairs but were frozen to the spot. Pat walked to the head of the stairs, turning to the others.
‘Let me go down first. He’ll regret starting with me.’ She whispered and off she clumped downwards. Pat was not bothered whatsoever.
She poked her head out of the stairwell carefully and then went a bit further. They all stood behind on the staircase, she was totally blocking their view, so they were depending on her. Their muscles were tense, ready to storm Malcolm at a moments notice. It seemed to be taking an eternity. Wee Renee sighed.
‘What's going on Pat, I can’t stand it any longer.’ Pat didn’t answer
and Wee Renee feared the worst for her friend. She jumped down the last few steps and took a crouched position ready to spring. She quickly picked up a music stand to defend herself with, only to see Pat coming back in from the outside corridor.
‘He's not here,’ Pat said, ‘It’s safe to come down.’ They all descended the last few steps and saw that she was right. Malcolm had mysteriously disappeared.
‘This isn't giving me a good feeling,’ said Wee Renee.
‘I just checked all the corridors and popped my head outside. He’s definitely gone.’ Pat stated. ‘I think he's gone to fetch some vampires to pick us off.’ Terry muttered shaking his head.
‘So do I.’ said Sally miserably.
‘How dark was it outside, Pat?’ Terry asked.
‘I wasn’t thinking about the dark when I looked.’
‘Let's look outside and see how bad it is.’ Terry said. The whole group made the trip through the corridors and looked outside. It was already quite dark.
‘We might have five to ten minutes to get home, but the fact that people could be on their way here, well……I’m worried we might not get out.’ Terry said.
‘How have we been in there so long?’ Laura asked.
‘I think we stood upstairs for ages, making our minds up about what to do.’ Pat replied.
‘It can’t be helped now. The options are, we try and make a run for it, or we can stay in the dentist next door and, if they can come back here they won't find us.’ Terry offered.
‘What about our tracks. They'll know we are there.’ Carl said.
‘We will run around and make loads of footprints. There's enough of us to do that quickly. We should be able to confuse them on that part at least.’ Sally said. They all agreed that going to the dentist was the best option. ‘Right then let's lock up for the night, then they will have to waste time getting in. We have that much time at least.’ Terry got his keys out of his pocket.
‘Yes, he must have been gone fifteen minutes at the most and my shopping is inside.’ said Wee Renee. They all rushed back in, Wee Renee picking up her two bags. It was then that she noticed that Malcolm had left his shopping by the conductor’s stand. She opened the bag and noticed that there was not a smashed beetroot jar in there. Or several tins of potato’s and mushy peas. What was in there, in fact, was a dead tabby cat and a smashed bottle of Swiss red wine.
Silver Banned: Book 2 of the Saddleworth Vampire Series Page 11